Philadelphia Marathon announces equal prize money for non-elite male, female and non-binary athletes

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Philadelphia Marathon will offer cash prizes and awards for top finishers in three gender categories — men, women and nonbinary — in the open division of its races this year, city officials announced Thursday.

The change applies to three races that are part of the marathon weekend on November 23 and 24: a half marathon and an 8K on Saturday and a marathon on Sunday.

The open division refers to races for non-professional athletes; the change does not affect professional men’s and women’s races.

According to the website, the top male, female and nonbinary runners in the marathon will each receive $4,000. Second place in each of those categories will receive $2,000 and third place will receive $1,000.

There is also a $1,000 prize for the top Philadelphia athlete in each gender category and a $1,000 bonus for the course record in each.

The top male, female and non-binary runners in the masters category (age 40 or older) in the marathon will each receive $1,000.

Prizes and awards are determined by the age of the weapon.

Prize categories are the same for the half marathon and 8K, but the dollar amounts are lower. There is no prize for the first Philadelphia runner in the half marathon or 8K, and there is no prize for the course record in the 8K.

In the half marathon, for all genders:

• 1st place: $2,500
• 2nd place: $1,500
• 3rd place: $1,000
• 1st place master: $500
• Course Record: $1,000

In 8K, for all genres:

• 1st place: $750
• 2nd place: $500
• 3rd place: $250
• 1st place master: $250

The races have had nonbinary categories since 2022, race director Kathleen Titus said in the news release.

Organizers will “take an apparent approach to monitoring all gender categories” in the open division, meaning athletes can select the gender that aligns with their identity and will not have to provide any “supporting evidence,” the announcement said.

Some non-binary brokers in 2023 expressed frustration That prize money was not available to elite non-binary runners.

According to the city, tickets for the races are on track to sell out this year.